1. Field of the Invention
The presently disclosed and claimed inventive concept(s) relates generally to stone and casket plaque easels for holding a floral object, and more particularly but not by way of limitation, to an erectable or collapsible stone and casket plaque easel for holding and/or supporting a floral object. In yet another aspect, the presently disclosed and claimed inventive concept(s) relates to methods of shipping a stone and casket plaque easel, methods of using a stone and casket plaque easel, methods of storing a stone and casket plaque easel, and methods of placing a floral object on a stone and casket plaque easel.
2. Description of the Related Art
Stone and casket plaque easels are used in the floral, funeral and headstone industries to support and display flower sprays atop caskets and/or headstones. Current stone and casket plaque easels are cumbersome making them difficult to ship, store, and transport due to their awkward, bulky nature. Stone and casket plaque easels are usually constructed of materials such as, for example, steel. Such stone and casket plaque easels do not have the ability to readily dissemble or collapse into a position that is compact and easily manageable. Typically, for example, the legs of current stone and casket plaque easels are in a fixed (erected) position (for example, the prior art stone and casket plaque easel shown in FIG. 1) making it impossible to dissemble or collapse the stone and casket plaque easel for shipment, transportation and/or storage.
Currently, florists attach floral sprays to current stone and casket plaque easels by affixing the spray to or placing the spray on a central support member of the easel. The easel must then be transported in a fixed erect position to a designated location for placement on a headstone/plaque and/or casket. After a funeral visitation or service in the funeral home or chapel, the current stone and casket plaque easel is removed in the fixed, erect position for transportation. The easel is then transported to the cemetery where the easel is placed atop a casket for use again during a grave side service or as a decoration at the grave site after the service. These stone and casket plaque easels are frequently transported to various ceremonies and recycled for subsequent use. The transportability of current stone and casket plaque easels is therefore not maximized because of the bulky nature of these easels.
Further, shipping and/or freight costs currently reflect the cumbersome nature of shipping current stone and casket plaque easels. For example, depending on the freight zone, freight costs may range from 9.26% to 36.14% of the total manufacturing costs. This is because current stone and casket plaque easels are produced in a factory and shipped to a designated location in the fixed, erected position. Shipping these types of stone and casket plaque easels is costly due to the large amount of space that the current stone and casket plaque easels require. A stone and casket plaque easel that is fully or partially collapsible would dramatically decrease shipping costs, for example, fully or partially collapsible stone and casket plaque easels may reduce freight costs by up to 75% when compared to the freight costs of current non-collapsible stone and casket plaque easels.
Warehousing space must also be maximized to accommodate storage of such stone and casket plaque easels. For example, when arriving at a distributorship or flower shop, current stone and casket plaque easels require the manufacturer, distributor or florist to provide an excessive and unnecessary amount of storage space for these non-collapsible easels.
It is to this end that there is a need in the industry for a fully or partially erectable or collapsible stone and casket plaque easel that overcomes the disadvantages and defects of current stone and casket plaque easels, and that is compact, easily transportable, and less expensive to ship and store. It is to such a stone and casket plaque easel that the presently disclosed and claimed inventive concept(s) is directed.